Tag: Trump recession

The Pandemic Depression Is Over. The Pandemic Recession Has Just Begun.

New York Times logo

Signs of a slower, grinding recovery sure look familiar.

There is a straightforward narrative of the economy in 2020: The world shut down in the spring because of the coronavirus pandemic, causing an economic collapse without modern precedent. A sharp recovery began in May as businesses reopened.

That is accurate as far as it goes. But the snapback effect over the summer has masked something more worrying: We’ve entered a longer, slower grind that puts the economy at risk for the indefinite future.

In the details of government employment data — covering hundreds of industries — can be seen a jobs crisis that penetrates deeply into the economy. Sectors that in theory shouldn’t be much affected by the pandemic at all are showing patterns akin to a severe recession. Continue reading.

States could see years of money woes, job losses from the COVID-19 recession

As Congress struggled last week to reach a deal on the latest coronavirus relief package, alarms were again being raised that the lack of federal aid could mean years of service cutbacks, layoffs and employee furloughs for state and local governments across the country.

Georgia, which has avoided mass furloughs, has fared better than many other states. Nationally, about 1.5 million college, school and other government workers were laid off or furloughed during the early months of the COVID-19 recession, eclipsing the declines during the Great Recession, according to U.S. Department of Labor figures.

Without federal assistance to fill holes in state and local budgets, some analysts have said spending cuts and tax increases that communities may need to continue providing services could delay the country’s recovery. Continue reading.

This chart speaks volumes about the Trump pandemic — and the Trump depression

AlterNet logoThe jobs market carnage is shown in sharp focus in the graphic below from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington.

In just four weeks we have seen 22 million jobs disappear. That’s a huge number, the equivalent of the combined workforces of Georgia, Illinois, Maryland and Pennsylvania. A Federal Reserve study suggests we will reach a 32% unemployment, far worse than in the depths of the 1930s Great Depression, when the rate was just shy of 25%.

Job losses during the 1990, 2001 and 2008 recessions rose slowly and steadily. Each took more than six months to reach their peaks, giving people warnings and time to adjust as best they could. Continue reading.

Soaring deficits could put Trump in a corner if there’s a recession

The Hill logoA sea of red ink may make it politically difficult for President Trump and Congress to use the traditional tools for stimulating growth if a recession kicks in sometime next year.

Cutting taxes and increasing spending are seen as ways of stimulating the economy to recover from a recession, but that could be difficult with an annual budget deficit soaring above $1 trillion — at a time of positive economic growth.

“There may not be the political appetite to borrow more,” says Marc Goldwein, the head of policy at the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), which advocates for lower debt.

View the complete August 22 article by Niv Elis on The Hill website here.